And you know I can do it [ It's ironic that the Abigail, who encouraged the witchcraft in the first place, is the one who goes around accusing everybody else. As ringleader, she excites the other girls into a frenzy of emotion, which allows them to condemn as witches the people they know and love.
Abigail's main skill seems to be finding people's flaws, their weaknesses, and their prejudices Abigail's ruthless cunning is shown again in Act II when she frames Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft. When John attempts to expose Abigail, she skillfully manages to turn the whole thing around on him, packing him off to the slammer.
Abigail rides her power trip out to the end, eventually leaving town with all of her uncle's money. The character of Abigail is often accused of being one-dimensional, and there's more than a grain of truth in that accusation unlike, say, Abigail's accusations.
She doesn't express one shred of remorse the entire time, making her seem almost inhumanly diabolical. However, even though Abigail's actions are ruthless, they are in some ways understandable. For one, Miller slips in an interesting detail about Abigail's childhood that gives us a clue about where her mercilessness might stem from. When she was younger, Abigail watched both of her parents be murdered.
She tells the other girls:. Whoa there. That is some intense, messed-up stuff. It's no surprise that a person exposed to such brutality at a young age might eventually act brutally herself. Abigail's ruthless, manipulative tactics might also be a result of her low social position.
She does have it pretty bad. She's an orphan. She's an unmarried teenager. And worst of all in the patriarchal Puritan society , she's female. Use the information in the above analysis about Abigail to bolster your comparison. Portraits of two women , used under CC BY 2.
Over the course of The Crucible , Abigail goes from having basically no power to having the most power of anyone in Salem. She starts out one step higher than Tituba: an orphaned, teenaged, girl who has been fired from her job and is being given a bad reputation around town by her former employer, basically living on her uncle's charity. By Act 3, Abigail is the head of the "afflicted children," powerful enough that she can threaten Danforth, the Deputy Governor of the Province, and get away with it:.
Danforth; I have seen my blood runnin' out! I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil's people—and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a—. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits?
Beware of it! Abigail talks back to Danforth in court, and rather than yelling at her, he weakens in his own conviction. She then follows this up with a not-so-veiled threat that underscores her power—if he crosses Abigail, maybe he'll find himself accused of witchcraft. Even though in Act 4 Parris reveals to Danforth that Abigail is a runaway thief, that is not enough to diminish her power—those who she accused of being witches are still set to hang.
Abigail also changes from having a questionable reputation to unimpeachable reputation and then back to having a tarnished reputation over the course of the play.
In Act 1, Parris tells Abigail that her former employer, Elizabeth Proctor, "comes so rarely to church this year for she will not sit so close to something soiled" Act 1, p. By the time Act 2 rolls around, Abigail's reputation has soared to such heights that she's treated like Moses a Biblical prophet.
As Elizabeth Proctor states:. Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel" Act 2, p. In Act 3, Abigail's reputation is strong enough that John Proctor's accusations of her being a whore since she slept with a married man aren't automatically believed, even though ordinarily the word of an upright male citizen like John Proctor would certainly be taken over that of a teenage orphan girl.
In Act 4 it's revealed that Abigail has run away and stolen money from her uncle and so her reputation takes a hit in her absence , but since she is no longer in Salem, it doesn't really matter for her. Abigail's goals seem to change over the course of the play. In Act 1, it's clear that she is still very much attracted to John Proctor and wants to be with him: she nervously laughs the first time he speaks to her very much a teenager in the midst of an infatuation , and is physically affected by his presence:.
Part of her desire to marry John Proctor may be to improve her social standing, but at this point in the play, Abigail still seems to care about John Proctor and want to be with HIM, not just some random guy although, of course, Miller's told us that she has an "endless capacity for dissembling," so who knows if we can trust her. As I mentioned in the "motivations" section, it's harder to tell what Abigail's reasons for this are because it's other people talking about her actions, rather than firsthand knowledge.
Proctor and his wife seem pretty sure that Abigail's motives are to replace Elizabeth Proctor:. So it's unclear whether her motives are out of lust and love for John, wanting to improve her social standing, or wanting to get revenge on Elizabeth for sullying her name, but Abigail's intentions to get rid of Elizabeth, at least, are clear. By Act 3, however, Abigail cares more about holding onto the power she already has than about John Proctor.
We know this because when Mary Warren accuses John Proctor of being "the Devil's man," Abigail makes no move to deny it. Instead, she and the rest of girls echo Parris's "Praise God! So do you think Abigail really loves John? Why or why not? What evidence from the play can you find to support your argument? Finally, the extent to which Abigail is affected by the hysteria seems to change during the course of the play.
Part of the reason for this is that after the first act, the audience is no longer privy to Abigail's thought processes since she no longer is talking in confidence to friends or Proctor, but instead is taking very public actions and making public statements in the courthouse.
Abigail stares in fright at Betty. Abby, she's going to die! It's a sin to conjure, and we-" Act 1, p. By Act 3, however, it's no longer clear exactly how much Abigail is faking the fright and fits. The argument can certainly be made that she and the other girls are trying to intimidate Mary Warren into retracting her statements about them lying.
Abigail does, however, appear to show at least some physical manifestation of her distress which is harder to fake :. Of course, you might argue that Hathorne is feeling what he expected to feel, or that Abigail has such control over her body that she is able to cause her temperature to drop because of psychosomatic processes. Equally possible, though, is that she, like Mary, has been caught up in the hysteria and to some extent believes that she is being attacked by supernatural forces, and so it's an unconscious link between mind and body causing her to have cold hands.
In the fourth Act, we learn Abigail has stolen all of Parris's savings and run away with Mercy Lewis, which does imply that she's reverted to form and that this whole being-attacked-by-witches thing was just a hoax. We don't really have enough information about Abigail's thinking, however, to say for sure if she never believed in witches, or if there was a brief period during which she, too, got caught up in the witch hunt hysteria.
I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar! Abigail is extremely upset that this gossip is going around town and that her uncle knows about it, so she hurries to defend her name with much exclamation, calling Goody Proctor a liar to offset the damage.
The irony of Abigail, consummate liar, calling someone else a liar repeats throughout the play, including in the next quote:. In this case, the irony of Abigail accusing someone else of lying is enhanced by the stage directions: not only is Abigail calling Mary a liar, but she's doing so in a tone that implies Abigail is offended Mary would ever think to say such a thing about her.
In reality, of course, it's Abigail who is the shameless liar. The "shameless" descriptor ties in well to the final quote:. Danforth cannot speak. I'll not have such looks! She turns and starts for the door. By this point in the play, Abigail has gained enough authority that she feels empowered to tell the Deputy Governor of the Province, to his face, that she won't put up with him giving her suspicious looks. This is a big change from her previous position in Salem society, where she was dependent on the charity of her uncle, Reverend Parris especially after she was fired by Elizabeth Proctor.
Need to get a better understanding of the other characters in the play? Read our complete guide to and analysis of all the characters in The Crucible. Confused about the actions Abigail takes in the context of The Crucible?
We've got plot summaries for the acts she appears in. How does Abigail's character fit into the greater themes of The Crucible? Delve into the themes of The Crucible with this article. We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score.
Download it for free now:. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process.
Ask questions; get answers. How to Get a Perfect , by a Perfect Scorer. Score on SAT Math. Score on SAT Reading. Score on SAT Writing. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? How to Get a Perfect 4. How to Write an Amazing College Essay. A Comprehensive Guide. Choose Your Test. The first thing we learn about Abigail courtesy of Miller's introductory character description is that she is young and gorgeous: " Abigail Williams, seventeen…a strikingly beautiful girl " Act 1, p.
Relationships Abigail has important—and often contentious—relationships with the other characters, many of which directly shape the action of the play. Abigail and Elizabeth have a mutual dislike, although the feeling is much stronger on Abigail's side than Elizabeth's since Abigail eventually ends up accusing Elizabeth of being a witch : "It's a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!
The Parris Family Abigail is also Reverend Parris's niece and so Betty Parris's cousin ; she lives with the Parris family because her parents were killed by a local American Indian tribe. Do you understand that? HALE, quickly : What jumped in?
Tituba, Tituba Shaking Betty : Betty, wake up. Did your cousin drink any of the brew in that kettle? Cheever tells Proctor and Hale that, after apparently being stabbed with a needle while eating at Parris' house, Abigail accused Elizabeth's spirit of stabbing her. Mary tells Hale that she made the doll in court that day and stored the needle inside it. She also states that Abigail saw this because she sat next to her. The men still take Elizabeth into custody, and Hale, Corey and Nurse leave.
Proctor tells Mary that she must testify in court against Abigail. Mary replies that she fears doing this because Abigail and the others will turn against her. In the original production of the play, there was an additional scene in the second act.
It has been removed from most subsequent productions, but is added as an appendix in many written book forms of the play:. In the woods, Proctor meets with Abigail. She again tries to seduce him, but he pushes her away, informing her that she must stop all accusations against his wife.
They argue, Abigail forces John to grope her and then asks him how he intends to prove that what she is saying is false. He informs her that he fully intends to admit to their affair in court if necessary, and the scene ends with Abigail saying, "I will save you tomorrow Judge Hathorne offstage is in the midst of questioning Martha Corey on accusations of witchcraft, during which her husband, Giles, interrupts the court proceedings and declares that Thomas Putnam is "reaching out for land!
Judge Hathorne enters and angrily asks: "How dare you come roarin' into this court, are you gone daft, Corey? Giles Corey replies that since Hathorne isn't a Boston Judge yet, he has no right to ask him that question. Corey explains that he owns acres 2.
Corey also states that the court is holding his wife Martha by mistake saying he had only said Martha was reading books, but he never accused her of witchcraft.
Danforth soon thereafter takes utter control of the situation, and denies others in the court even a modicum of power. John Proctor enters with Mary Warren, promising to clear up any doubts regarding the girls if his wife is freed from custody. Danforth orders the girls into the vestry. Reverend Parris is skeptical, pointing out that the girls fainted, screamed, and turned cold before the accused, which they see as proof of the spirits.
Mary tells them that she believed at first to have seen the spirits, however she knows now that there aren't any. In an attempt to discredit Mary, Abigail and the other girls begin to scream and cry out that they are freezing. When Abigail calls to God, Proctor accuses her of being a whore and tells the court of their affair.
Abigail denies it and the court has Elizabeth brought in to verify if Proctor is telling the truth. Not knowing that he had already confessed, Elizabeth lies and denies any knowledge of the affair. When Proctor continues to insist that the affair took place, the girls begin to pretend to see a yellow bird sent by Mary to attack them.
To save herself from being accused of witchcraft, Mary tells the court that Proctor was in league with the devil and forced her to testify. Proctor is arrested for witchcraft, and Reverend Hale storms out of the court, shouting "I denounce these proceedings! Proctor is chained to a jail wall, totally isolated from the outside. Reverend Parris begins to panic because John was liked by many in the village as were Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse, who are also to be hanged , and he explains his fears to Hathorne, Danforth and Cheever.
He also reveals that Abigail and Mercy Lewis one of the "afflicted" girls stole 31 pounds about half his yearly salary and boarded a ship in the night. Hale enters, now a broken man who spends all his time with the prisoners, praying with them and advising prisoners to confess to witchcraft so that they can live. The authorities send Elizabeth to John, telling her to try to convince Proctor to confess to being a witch.
When Proctor and Elizabeth are alone, she forgives him and reaffirms their love. Elizabeth tells of Giles Corey being pressed to death. John chooses to confess in exchange for his life and calls out to Hathorne, who is almost overjoyed to hear such news.
Proctor signs the confession, then tears it up when realizing that Danforth is going to nail the signed confession to the church which Proctor fears will ruin his name and the names of other Salemites. Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey are led to the gallows to hang.
Abigail's motivation to do what she did in the story was her jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor, a hunger for power, and a lust for John Proctor. It's also speculated that she was acting out of a desire for attention and affection from others, which she'd get when she was hailed as a heroine for outing witches in Salem.
She was also seeking amusement in how she could turn the entire town and it's a religious community on it's head due to her lies, giving her a greater sense of power and control than most girls of her time period could have.
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